Happy Birthday, Strawhat Pirates!
by pingo1387
Summary: A story which has nine chapters, one for each birthday of the Strawhat pirates. More details inside. Cover by msadagal. Happy birthday!
1. Robin

**And so begins the birthday story! I'll post a new chapter for each of the current 9 Strawhat pirates when their birthdays occur. More details after this chapter.**

**All of these take place when the crew has 9 members.**

* * *

><p>"Say, Robin . . ."<p>

"Mm?" Robin looked up from her book towards Nami.

"I was just thinking . . . I don't think you've ever told anyone when your birthday is."

She looked at Robin expectantly. Robin looked up in thought then shook her head.

"You're right; I don't think I have."

And she went back to her book.

Nami sighed. "Robin?"

"Yes?"

"When is your birthday?"

"You mean the date?"

"_Yes_, I mean the date."

"February 6th."

"Oh!" Nami looked up. "So that's . . . pretty soon, isn't it?"

"I suppose so," Robin murmured. "I hadn't really thought about it."

"Who doesn't think about their _birthday_?" Nami asked skeptically.

"I stopped celebrating mine about ten years ago," Robin replied. "It seemed pointless."

". . . oh," Nami said. "I see . . ."

She strolled off somewhere, leaving Robin to her book.

* * *

><p>Robin had indeed stopped celebrating her birthday a while ago. Not only was it sometimes difficult to keep track of the date when on the run (she was often forced to search through garbage bins for newspapers), but she had no one to celebrate it with, and no one who would consider wishing her a happy birthday. She had merely kept track of the years, noting without pleasure whenever another birthday passed.<p>

Despite the fact that she was now with Luffy and the others, she had no desire to start celebrating again. It just seemed like too much trouble to go through, for one silly day of the year that was almost exactly like all the others.

However, based on Nami's actions and questions, Robin suspected that the navigator was planning to throw a party for her anyway. And based on her attitude, Robin also suspected that it would be a surprise party.

Although she hated to ruin their efforts, Robin would not be playing along with their game.

* * *

><p>When February 6th came around, Robin was ready. She had noticed the others meeting in secret yesterday, and highly suspected that they were preparing the surprise party, if that was indeed what was happening.<p>

She quietly rose and headed for the door of her and Nami's room, noting that the navigator was already gone. She went to the kitchen, but before entering, checked inside by sprouting an eye in a corner.

Everyone was sitting around the table except Sanji, who was behind the counter, and Zoro, who was apparently still sleeping. Robin allowed the eye to vanish and entered.

"Good morning, Robin-_chwan_~!" Sanji exclaimed upon her arrival. "Did you sleep well, my dear?"

"Good morning, Sanji," she said, smiling. "Yes, I slept fine. Good morning, everyone."

The others said similar greetings without any mention of birthdays. Robin thought that the party, if it was indeed happening, must be set for later.

* * *

><p>Later that day, Robin noticed that everyone seemed to have disappeared from the deck. No Luffy, Usopp, or Chopper playing games; no Franky practicing dance moves; no Nami reclining on the bow . . .<p>

Slightly concerned, she headed up to her and Nami's room, though not before checking inside. After confirming that only Nami was inside, resting on her bed, she entered. Nami looked up.

"Hey, Robin," she said tiredly. "You need something?"

"Oh, well . . ." Robin said. "I noticed that no one was outside, and it seemed odd. I was wondering if you knew where they were."

"They must be around somewhere," Nami said indifferently. "I'm sure nothing terrible happened. Just search the ship or something . . . you want help?"

Robin shook her head. "That's okay; you look tired."

"Mm . . ." Nami rolled over on the bed. Robin quietly left.

Upon searching the ship, she found that Franky and Usopp were working on a cannon below deck; Luffy was pestering Sanji in the kitchen; Chopper was mixing something in his room; and Zoro and Brook were up in the crow's nest, meditating—no, Zoro was meditating while Brook danced around the room, singing something.

She sighed and headed for the library.

* * *

><p>The end of the day came soon and not a single member of the crew had wished her a happy birthday. It was silly, Robin thought as she entered her and Nami's room, shutting the door behind her, to have thought that anything would have happened in the first place; Silly to think that her crew would attempt to throw her a surprise party. She didn't know why she had expected something in the first place.<p>

After all, birthdays were such a trivial thing, she told herself as she changed into her nightclothes and went to bed.

* * *

><p>Robin rose the next morning, February 7th, and saw that Nami was already gone. Figuring that she must be in the kitchen, Robin got up, got dressed, and left the room. She went to the kitchen and opened the door . . .<p>

. . . Only to be met with a huge shout of "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" ("Robin-_chwan_!") ("Robin-_san_!") from the entirety of the crew.

She stared in shock. The whole kitchen was decorated with paper streamers and balloons gotten from somewhere, there was a large purple cake in the middle of the table with 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' written sloppily (probably by Luffy) in pink frosting. The Strawhats themselves surrounded the table, wearing conical party hats; Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper had noisemakers in their mouths, which they blew repeatedly.

"Robin, hi!" Luffy said around his noisemaker. "Happy birthday!"

"Nami told us today was your birthday," Usopp explained, also talking around his noisemaker, "so we set this up!"

"Robin-_chwan_, I don't know how you do it," Sanji said happily, "but you somehow look even more radiant today~!"

"Robin-_san_?" Brook asked. "Are you quite alright?"

Robin stared at them. "I . . . I . . ."

"Oh, don't be so shocked," Nami said happily, nudging her with a grin. "Don't tell me you didn't suspect!"

"Well . . ." Robin cleared her throat. "I hate to burst everyone's bubble . . . but my birthday was yesterday."

. . .

"Today's February 6th, isn't it?" Chopper asked.

Robin shook her head. "No . . . I'm afraid today's the 7th."

"Are you serious!?" Franky yelled.

Usopp ran off somewhere and came back with a calendar. "Dammit, she's right! Yesterday was the 6th!"

"Oh, come on!" Nami exclaimed. "That's so unfair!"

"You'd think _one_ of us would have noticed," Zoro muttered.

"I can't believe we messed up!" Chopper wailed.

"Robin-_chwan_, can you forgive my poor bumbling self?" Sanji cried pitifully.

Robin felt a smile spreading across her face. "I don't mind celebrating today, everyone. We can always pretend today is the 6th."

"Oh, good!" Luffy said, blowing his noisemaker. "Party time!"

"Are you certain, Robin-_san_?" Brook inquired.

She nodded. "I'm absolutely sure. Shall we begin the festivities?"

And so the party commenced. As Sanji guarded the cake from Luffy, Robin smiled and thought that, just maybe, birthdays didn't have to be so trivial after all.

* * *

><p><strong>Happy birthday, Nico Robin!<strong>

**So every time one of the Strawhats has a birthday, I'll post a new chapter. In other words, the next chapter will be on March 2nd, since that's Sanji's birthday.**

**No, I will not be doing chapters for characters outside of the Strawhat crew. While I would like to, that would be ****_way_**** too many characters, and some of them we don't know enough about to give a proper chapter to.**

**I'll try to make every chapter different - some will be surprise parties, some won't.**


	2. Sanji

**Took me freaking forever to get this one down. **

* * *

><p>Sanji woke up to the sound of Brook loudly playing 'Happy Birthday' on the violin. When the skeleton saw that the cook was awake, he finished the song with a flourish and cried "Good morning, Sanji-<em>san<em>, and a very happy birthday to you!"

"Hey, thanks," Sanji said with a grin. He made to get up, but Brook rushed over and pushed him back in bed.

"Uh, can I get up?"

"So sorry," Brook said with a chuckle. "The others have asked that I make sure you stay in bed."

Sanji glared at him. "And why is that?"

Brook looked away. "Er . . . it was Nami-_san_ and Robin-_san_ who wanted this . . ."

Sanji immediately fell back into bed. "If this command was from my darlings," he declared, "then I shall stay in bed as long as they want!"

Brook chuckled. "Of course. And now, do you have any song requests, Sanji-_san_?"

"Hm . . . how about 'Great B—'"

"_Gather up all of the crew~, time to ship out Binks' Brew~. . ._"

Sanji sighed and rolled over.

* * *

><p>"Oh, Sanji-<em>kun<em>!"

Sanji sat up eagerly. "Nami-_swan_~?"

Brook had been playing his violin for the past half-hour, occasionally interrupting 'Binks' Brew' with some variation of 'Happy Birthday'.

The rest of the crew came through the door; Nami and Robin were at the front, each supporting a large plate full of scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns.

"Happy birthday, Sanji-_kun_!" Nami said.

"Happy birthday, Sanji," Robin said.

The ones behind them echoed these sentiments. Sanji threw out his arms and exclaimed "Nami-_swan_~! Robin-_chwan_~! How lovely is it to receive birthday greetings from my angels~!"

"This is for you, Sanji," Robin said. Nami let go of the plate, allowing Robin to hold it, and turned around; Luffy got out a tray and tossed it to her; she caught it and stood it over Sanji's lap. Robin set down the plate on the tray.

"Breakfast in bed," Nami said cheerfully.

Sanji seemed moved. "N-Nami-_swan_ . . . Robin-_chwan_ . . . this is . . . this is the best possible gift I could have received!"

"We helped!" Usopp protested from the door.

"Yeah, yeah, thanks to you guys, too," Sanji said dismissively. He seized the fork handed to him by Nami and dug in. Tears poured down his face at the first taste.

"Oh . . ." he sobbed. "It tastes _heavenly_! Nami-_swan_, Robin-_chwan_, did you bring this down from the heaven of whence you came~?"

"Come to think of it, there _are_ spices from Skypiea in the hash browns," Robin said quietly.

"We helped too!" Luffy said.

"Can I go now?" Zoro grumbled. "I need to start working out."

"Don't care," Sanji said, taking another delicate bite of the food.

The men backed out of the room, some wishing Sanji a happy birthday again. Nami and Robin stayed on either side of his bed while he ate.

"Thank you so much," Sanji said when he had finished at last. "You girls are the best~!"

"Is there anything else we can do?" Nami asked, taking the plate and fork and setting them aside.

Sanji looked up in thought. A strange grin spread across his face and blood started leaking out of his nose.

Nami smacked him. "We're not going commando in front of you!"

Sanji rubbed his head. "Ah, your fist of love feels so good . . . well, I can't make you girls cook again—though it did taste wonderful! Hm . . ."

Robin came around to Nami's side of the bed and whispered something. Nami nodded and smiled.

"Here's the idea, Sanji-_kun_," Nami said, "Robin and I will wear whatever you want—"

Sanji's eye turned into a heart and he clasped his hands in front of his chest.

"—_as long as _we're wearing _something_, _and_ you have to pay us 1,000 beris each. Normally I'd charge much more, but you get a discount today."

"I'm sure I can think of something . . ." Sanji said.

* * *

><p>When lunch came around, Sanji was just finishing the sandwiches when the crew started trickling in. Luffy was naturally the first, followed by Usopp and Zoro; the rest came in after them, Nami and Robin being the last.<p>

Sanji looked up upon the girls' arrival and exclaimed delightedly "Nami-_swan_, Robin-_chwan_, you two look _amazing_~!"

The two each wore a sexy carnival outfit; Nami's was dyed bright red and orange, making it look like flames were leaping up behind her, and Robin's was in varying shades of purple, giving her an air of mystery.

"I'm never doing this again, you hear me?" Nami said angrily, sitting at her place.

"You two look simply _ravishing_!" Brook exclaimed. "Would you mind terribly if I snuck a peek at—"

Nami threw her knife at his skull; it got stuck in his afro and he screamed.

"Where did you even get those?" Zoro asked.

"Oh?" Robin said. "Just what are you planning, Zoro?"

Zoro turned red and scowled.

Usopp whistled. "Nice!" he took out a camera and poised it, ready to snap pictures. Nami stood up, came around to his place, and seized the arm holding the camera.

"10,000 beris per picture," she said sweetly.

Usopp meekly put the camera away.

* * *

><p><strong>Happy birthday to Sanji!<strong>

**Franky's is up next . . . exactly one week from today. Hooray. *blows noisemaker half-heartedly***

**If you want to get an idea of what Nami and Robin are wearing, do an image search for "Rio's Carnival".**


	3. Franky

**Yo~! Sorry this is a bit late - however, note that it is still technically March 9th.**

* * *

><p>For most people in the world, today was just like any other day. But for Franky, it was special; today was his birthday.<p>

In the years when the Franky Family was together, his crew had always managed to get a big surprise party together. For some reason, this happened every year; and every year, Franky had been surprised and pleased. Occasionally, Grandma Kokoro, Chimney, and Yokozuna the frog would be present as well, and sometimes Iceburg would make time out of his busy schedule to show up. Seeing his old friends again at his birthday party would often bring tears to Franky's eyes—even though he loudly denied crying at all.

That day, his first birthday aboard the Thousand Sunny, Franky got out of bed, eager to face the day and perhaps receive birthday wishes from his friends.

But when he entered the kitchen, he only heard normal greetings from the ones present. When the last few finally came in, none of them wished him a happy birthday, either.

_Maybe they forgot_, he thought to himself. _Oh, well_.

After breakfast—a delicious batch of pancakes, provided by Sanji of course—Usopp said "Hey, Franky, how about making some fireworks? Or do you got anything else planned?"

"Uh, sure," Franky said.

"Can I come?" Luffy asked eagerly.

"No," Usopp said, giving Luffy a strange look. "_You_ stay here."

"But I wanna do fireworks!"

Sanji and Zoro held Luffy down while Usopp and Franky went to the factory.

* * *

><p>"Seriously, how many fireworks are we <em>making<em>?" Franky asked four hours later.

"Uh . . ." Usopp glanced at the clock on the wall. "Ten minutes," he muttered to himself quietly. "One or two more!"

Franky sighed. "Bro Usopp, I'm all for surplus, but we really don't need this many."

"Uh, well," Usopp said, thinking fast, "you know Luffy, he'll burn through these faster than we're making them—literally burn through them."

Franky shrugged. "Fine, whatever."

* * *

><p>They were halfway through making the second firework when Usopp glanced at the clock and realized that it was noon. He grabbed Franky's arm—well, more like placed his hand upon it, since the arm was too big to really grab—and said "Hey, that's enough, don't you think?"<p>

"That's what I said ten minutes ago!" Franky pointed out.

"Yeah, well, let's go back out, I bet Sanji's almost got lunch ready," Usopp said quickly. He ran out the door. Franky stared after him, shrugged, and followed.

When he opened the door, he was met with a shout of "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" from the whole crew. A buffet table was set out in the middle of the deck, laden with all sorts of food—and plenty of cola. Luffy and Chopper were blowing noisemakers, and the rest were grinning happily—but of course, Brook was always grinning, and Zoro's mouth was only slightly less frown-y than usual.

"Bet you thought we forgot, huh?" Sanji said.

"Is something wrong, Franky?" Robin asked.

Franky had turned away and covered his face. The rest of the crew could clearly see tears dripping off of his face. "Shut up!" he yelled in a muffled voice. "I'm not crying, dammit!"

Usopp came up and whacked Franky on the shoulder. "Hey, c'mon, man! Let's have some lunch, yeah?"

Luffy stretched out his arms and grabbed Franky, turning him around. "Fraaaaanky, c'mon, it's your birthday! Let's party!"

Franky grinned, wiped his tears, and went to join his friends.

* * *

><p><strong>Happy birthday to Franky  Cutty Flam! **

**I apologize for the shortness of this chapter. I was really running out of ideas, which is why I didn't post it earlier today. **

**Next up is Usopp-kun! I promise that his chapter will be longer.**


	4. Usopp

**I had so much fun writing this one. I actually ended up changing the idea at the last minute . . . thank goodness I did, this is way better than what I had originally planned.**

* * *

><p>Usopp sat up in bed and noted that the others were already gone. He grinned, stretched, and jumped to the floor, humming to himself.<p>

"Today's my birth-day," he sang quietly. "I bet the others are planning a surprise party! That's why they're gone."

Grinning again, he strode confidently out of the men's room. There was no one outside, so Usopp figured that they were in the kitchen. With a broad smile, he slammed open the door and yelled "Nice try, guys, but you can't surprise the great Captain U—"

He froze. Lying on the ground in front of him was Nami. She was covered in what appeared to be . . . blood.

"Oh god, Nami!" he screamed. He knelt down and turned her over. Her eyes were closed. "Nami, speak to me! What happened!? Are you okay!?"

Nami stirred and opened her eyes. "Usopp . . ." she whispered. "You're . . . alive . . ."

"Nami, what _happened_!?" Usopp yelled.

"Run . . . away . . ." she whispered. "They're . . . too strong . . . run . . ."

Her eyes closed and she did not move. Usopp, shaking, looked around the kitchen. Robin was lying some feet away, her eyes closed. She was also streaked with apparent blood.

"Robin!" Usopp cried, running over to her next. "Robin, what's going on!? Who did this!?"

Robin opened her eyes and looked at him. "Usopp?" She whispered. "How did you . . . survive . . ." she winced as if in pain. "You've . . . got to get away . . . before they . . . find you . . ."

And she too closed her eyes and did not move. Usopp backed up slowly and looked around again. This time he checked behind the counter and found Sanji. He was in the same state as Nami and Robin.

"Sanji!" Usopp screamed. "Oh god, not you too!"

Sanji stirred and slowly lifted his head, wincing as he did so. "U-Usopp . . ." he said softly. "Are . . . Nami-_swan_ . . . Robin-_chwan_ . . . are they . . . okay?"

Usopp hitched his breath. "Y-Yeah," he said shakily. "They got away."

"Oh . . ." Sanji sighed. "Good . . ."

His head dropped to the ground again and he did not move.

Usopp was very scared now. The enemy, whoever he or she or they were, had taken out not only the two smartest ones on the crew but also their third strongest fighter. Whoever the enemy was, they must have been very powerful.

Usopp reached into his bag and seized his slingshot as well as a few Lead Stars. He crept out of the kitchen and shut the door behind him, looking around cautiously. Finally he noticed Franky collapsed on the bow, one of his hand-gloves off, exposing his metal appendage.

"Franky!?" Usopp yelled, running over to him and kneeling down. Unlike the others, Franky did not stir or speak. Usopp got up and backed away shakily.

"So there _was_ one left," said a deep voice behind him.

Usopp screamed and whirled around, his slingshot at the ready. He found himself facing four figures, all wearing large black cloaks and hoods that covered their faces. One was tall and thin, one appeared to be very burly, and the other two were of normal height.

"W-Who are you!?" Usopp yelled. "Did you hurt the others!?"

"Hm . . ." said the tall and thin figure in a deep voice. "And what makes you think that it was us?"

"Oh, please," said one of the average-sized figures in a gruff voice. "Let's not beat around the bush. It _was_ us who took care of your crewmates."

Usopp's legs were quivering violently. "I-I'll fight you!" he cried. "Little do you know that I have over 8,000 men hiding aboard this ship, ready to come at a moment's notice!"

"Really!?" cried the burly figure in a high-pitched voice. He cleared his throat and then said in a deep voice "I mean . . . we're not falling for your lies!"

"That's right," said the other average-sized figure in a deep voice. "You don't stand a chance against us, Usopp."

"How do you know my name!?" Usopp yelled.

"He happens to possess psychic powers," said the tall and thin figure in that same deep voice. The four figures spread out and surrounded Usopp, who looked every which way, trying to watch everyone at once.

"Special Attack: L-Lead Star!" he cried, firing at the first average-sized figure, who dodged it easily.

The tall and thin figure began to slowly approach Usopp, who backed up. The two average-sized figures started closing in on either side of him and he looked front, left, and right, unsure of what to do.

In the next second, he didn't have to decide; there was a sharp pain on the back of his head and all went dark.

* * *

><p>Usopp woke up blindfolded and tied to a chair. He squirmed and twisted his head, trying to get his bearings.<p>

"Usopp," said the deep voice of the burly figure, "you are here for interrogation. Are you prepared?"

"N-No!" Usopp yelled. "What the hell is going on!?"

"Question one," said a gruff voice, which Usopp recognized as belonging to the first average-sized figure, "what is the date today?"

"W-What?" Usopp said, blinking behind his blindfold.

"ANSWER THE QUESTION!"

"I-It's April 1st!" Usopp squeaked. "S-Sir!"

"Very good," said the deep voice of the second average-sized figure. "Now . . ." judging by the sound of his voice and the footsteps, he was pacing around Usopp. "What _special event_ is happening today?"

"W-Well . . ." Usopp shivered nervously. "I-It's actually my birthday today . . ."

"Interesting," said the deep voice of the tall and thin figure. "But I believe that you forgot something. There is a _holiday_ celebrated today. Name that holiday and you will be released."

Usopp quivered nervously. "I—uh—it's April Fool's Day, isn't it?" he said.

"Absolutely right!" exclaimed someone, and Usopp's blindfold was whipped off. He squinted in the sudden brightness and realized that he was in the kitchen of the Thousand Sunny. Luffy, Chopper, Zoro, and Brook were standing around him, grinning, and—

"W-Wait," Usopp said, looking at Nami, Robin, Sanji, and Franky. "Y-You guys are okay!"

"Of course we are!" Sanji said. "What do you take us for?"

"Happy April Fool's Day, Usopp!" Chopper cried.

"And happy birthday, Usopp-_san_!" Brook exclaimed.

Usopp was very confused. "I-I don't get it," he stammered. "What even—"

"We set this up last night," Nami said cheerfully. "I liberated some of your Ketchup Stars for me, Robin, Sanji-_kun_, and Franky."

"B-But—" Usopp said. "The hooded figures—"

Luffy laughed. "That was us!" he said in the deep voice of the second average-sized figure. Returning to his normal voice, he said "You're not the only one who can lie, Usopp! Me, Zoro, Chopper, and Brook dressed up! It was really fun! You should have seen your face!"

"Sorry for knocking you out!" Chopper added.

"Sorry for scaring you, Bro Usopp," Franky said.

Usopp just stared at all of them. He finally smiled and began to cry.

"You okay there?" Zoro said.

"I . . ." Usopp said. "I'm so glad you guys are okay . . ."

Luffy reached behind Usopp and started to untie him. "Sorry! You wanna start the party now?"

"Yeah . . ." Usopp said, laughing. "Hey, Luffy, you're making the knots worse!"

"Oh, sorry."

"You did it again!"

* * *

><p><strong>Happy birthday, Usopp!<strong>

**Next up is Brook, which is on . . . Friday. Crap. *cracks knuckles and starts writing***


	5. Brook

**I am so so so so so so so sorry. In March, I skipped ahead on my calendar to write down that it was Brook's birthday on April _4th_. The whole time I was reminding myself "Friday, 4-3, April 3rd, Friday," even though it _clearly_ said April 4th where I had written down the birthday. I only realized this morning that Brook's birthday was _yesterday_. I feel terrible about posting a day late and I swear upon my honor that it will not happen again.**

* * *

><p>When the Rumbar pirates were still in business, birthdays had always been raucous and cheerful. Loud celebrations and songs were part of the birthday package, and Laboon, when he was travelling with them, would chirp along to the songs.<p>

But after that horrible last day of the happy pirate group, Brook's birthday celebrations decreased significantly in cheer. For one thing, it was difficult to have a party by oneself; for another, it was _very_ hard to keep track of the date while floating around in a foggy death-trap of a sea.

Only two times had Brook celebrated his birthday during those fifty years. The first time, a News Coo had dropped dead in midair—most likely because of old age—still carrying a bag of newspapers. Brook, after making a small grave for the bird in a corner of the ship, pulled out one of the newspapers and checked the date. He learned that it had been thirty years since he had died, and that it was also his birthday. He had celebrated by listening to the last song of his crew again and quietly singing the Happy Birthday song to himself, and later sitting vigil for his lost crewmates.

The second time, a group of pirates had come to be lost in the sea. They had boarded Brook's ship, thinking that it held abandoned treasure. When they found Brook, he had been resting against the railing, and so they had thought him dead. Naturally, they were quite shocked when Brook stood up and began talking. He had politely asked them what the date was, and one of the braver pirates had told him the year and day. Brook had thanked him and cheerfully informed the rest that it was his birthday. They had simply fled back to their ship, but the young brave pirate had wished him a happy birthday before fleeing with the others.

Now came the first time his birthday would be celebrated with his new friends. Brook, just the day before, had noted aloud that his birthday was coming soon. If none of his friends could make the time for a quiet celebration, he thought, then he would simply sit vigil for his former crewmates as he had so many times past.

"Brook!"

The skeleton turned to see Luffy waving, apparently just gotten up. "Happy birthday!"

Brook tipped his hat to Luffy. "Thank you, Luffy-_san_!"

He turned back to look out at the ocean, wistfully thinking of Laboon and Crocus. Hearing footsteps behind him, he turned to see Luffy running towards him and then seizing his arm. "What're you doing? We're gonna have a party!"

"A party?"

Luffy nodded. "Uh-huh! It's your birthday, so we party! And we get to have lots of food!"

"Ah," Brook said, chuckling. "My birthdays in recent years have been . . . rather quiet, to say the least."

Luffy frowned. "Huh? Quiet birthdays are boring. You gotta celebrate them with your friends!"

And he proceeded to pull Brook to the kitchen, where Sanji was cooking up a storm.

"Yo," he said, turning to see Brook and Luffy. "Happy birthday. Luffy, what are you doing? The food won't be ready for at least another ten minutes."

"But I wanna eat _now_," Luffy protested.

Sanji tossed him a piece of meat; Luffy jumped up and caught it in his mouth. "That's all you're getting," he said. "Now scat!"

Luffy sighed and shuffled out. Brook watched him go then turned to Sanji and said "Luffy-_san_ certainly seems to enjoy birthdays."

"He does," Sanji agreed. "And it's not just the extra food; I think he looks at it as a kind of milestone, or a marker of 'This is how long I've known you; this is how long we've been together'." He paused. "I guess that's how most people see it, though. I wouldn't know. For me, birthdays are just a nice excuse to take a break and have a party, maybe be a bit selfish."

Brook chuckled. "Indeed. I do love a good party." He stood and stretched—a completely unnecessary action, since he had no muscles to stretch. "I shall leave you now, Sanji-_san_; I do hope it turns out well!"

Sanji smirked. "What the hell do you take me for? It always turns out well."

Brook waved and left the kitchen. He strolled up to the bow and found Nami reading a book. He approached her, tipped his hat, and said "Good morning, Nami-_san_!"

"Morning," she said casually, glancing up with a smile. "Happy birthday, Brook!"

"Why, thank you," he said with a chuckle. "As a birthday gift, I don't suppose that you could show me your panties?"

Nami glared at him. Then, to his surprise, she tugged down the side of her skirt to reveal a flash of orange. Brook leaned in, but she hitched up her skirt quickly.

"That's all you get," she said. "I won't even charge you, so no complaining."

Brook surely would have been smiling if he could. "You're very generous, Nami-_san_! Thank you~!"

There was the sound of running footsteps and Sanji came pelting up the stairs. He stopped near Nami and Brook and narrowed his eyes.

"Is something the matter, Sanji-_san_?" Brook inquired.

"Hm . . ." Sanji muttered, glancing between them. "I could have sworn I sensed something here . . . but there's nothing, so . . ."

"Isn't the food going to burn?" Nami asked, looking at Sanji.

"Ah," Sanji said, and he ran back to the kitchen. A few minutes later, he shouted for everyone to come and get it.

There was a great rush towards the food area as usual. Sanji had made an extravagant breakfast, including Brook's favorite dish.

"This is delightful, Sanji-_san_!" Brook said, immediately starting to eat. Sanji grinned.

"Thanks," he said. And then "Wait, where's Robin-_chwan_?"

"Maybe she didn't hear you," Zoro muttered, devouring his food.

Just then Robin stepped into the kitchen. "Good morning, everyone," she greeted. "Brook, happy birthday."

"Thank you, Robin-_san_," Brook said cheerfully.

"Robin-_chwan_!" Sanji exclaimed delightedly. Robin inclined her head toward him.

"Where were you?" Usopp asked.

"Watching the ocean," Robin said. "Oh, by the way, there's a Marine ship approaching. I believe that they are close enough to start boarding and attacking."

Battle cries were then heard from outside.

"Can't you mention these things sooner!?" Franky demanded.

The crew stood. "Okay, we'll take care of them," Luffy said. "Then we'll have breakfast!"

Chopper, leaving the room, glanced over his shoulder and saw Brook still sitting at the table, staring down. "Brook?" he asked timidly. "Are you coming?"

"Chopper-_san_," Brook said, "you know that I am a gentleman, and a gentleman never gets angry."

Chopper nodded.

"However," Brook said, drawing his sword, "there are exceptions to every rule. One of these exceptions is _an interrupted birthday celebration_!"

He proceeded to run outside with a war cry.

The battle outside was clearly one-sided; it was obvious that none of the Marines stood a chance. The one that Brook was fighting found himself held at sword-point against the railing.

"Do you know what today is?" Brook asked softly.

"A . . . April . . . 3rd?" The scared Marine said, quaking with fear.

Brook nodded. "Very _good_! Today _also_ happens to be my birthday, the celebration of which you and your comrades rudely interrupted!"

"Oh . . ." the Marine said, trembling all over. "I . . . um . . . sorry?"

Brook cut him down and threw him back to the ship. The rest were finishing their quarry as well and the Marine ship was retreating.

"That was easy," Usopp commented.

"You were hiding back there," Zoro pointed out.

"Let's go have breakfast!" Luffy said impatiently.

Brook chuckled. It seemed that he would have a raucous celebration for the first time in years.

* * *

><p><strong>Happy birthday, Brook!<strong>

**Next up is Luffy, which is about a month away. This should be fun.**


	6. Luffy

Luffy sat cross-legged and cross-armed on the floor, staring up at a calendar with a frown. He scratched his head and sighed, glared up at the calendar, and then groaned and sighed.

"Somethin' wrong, Luffy?" Usopp asked, coming into the men's room.

Luffy glanced at him. "Hi," he said. "Well, I dunno . . . today's May 4th, right?"

Usopp came over and squinted unnecessarily at the calendar. "Hm . . . yesterday was Saturday, so . . . yeah," he said. "Why?"

"I feel like something important is happening tomorrow," Luffy muttered, continuing to stare at the calendar as if it would suddenly grow a mouth and speak to him. "But I dunno what."

"Uh, d-don't worry about it, Luffy," Usopp said as casually as possible. "I mean, if you don't remember . . ." he trailed off. "Anyway, just don't worry about it, okay?"

Luffy looked at him strangely. "Do _you_ know, Usopp?"

"Me? Of course not! Why would you think that? Well, I gotta go!" Usopp said this all very quickly and proceeded to run out of the room. Luffy stared after him before returning his gaze to the calendar, glaring with more ferocity as if that would help with his problem.

"Hm . . ." he muttered. "Maybe someone else knows?"

He stood, stretched, and strolled out the door to see Zoro napping on the deck. He strode over to him and started hitting him until the green-haired man woke.

"The hell do you want?" he mumbled with a yawn.

"Hi!" Luffy said. "Hey, Zoro, is something special happening tomorrow?"

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "You mean you forgot?"

"Forgot what?"

Zoro yawned again. "Well, you'll find out later . . . don't think too much about it."

And he fell back asleep.

Luffy frowned. He glanced around and saw Nami reading a book on one of the deck chairs. He ran up to her and started poking her to get her attention.

"What?" She snapped, swatting his hand away.

"What's going on tomorrow?" he asked without preamble.

"What do you mean?"

"Well . . . I feel like something important is gonna happen tomorrow," Luffy said. "But I can't remember what."

Nami rolled her eyes and went back to her book. "I guess that makes our job easier," she muttered.

"What?" Luffy whined. "What's going on? What job? Nami? Nami, what's going on? Nami? Hey, Nami? Nami, what's happening tomo—"

She hit him over the head with her book. "You'll find out tomorrow," she snapped. "Go away!"

He rubbed his head and shuffled away.

Luffy went around to each member of the crew, asking them what was happening tomorrow. No one would give him a direct answer, but instead said things along the lines of "You'll find out later" and "Don't worry about it".

At night, he flopped onto his bed with an exaggerated sigh. _What_ could be happening tomorrow? Special Meat Day? Meat for Everyone Day? Sanji Makes Only Meat Day?

"Hey, Sanji?" he said, turning over. "Is tomorrow Special Meat Da—"

He paused and frowned when he realized that Sanji wasn't there. Looking around, he saw that he was the only one in the room. He stood and went out the door to find everyone outside, standing in a group and discussing something.

"Hey!" he called. "Guys, what's going on?"

The others jumped and turned around to see him standing at the entrance of the door. Brook hurried forward and said "Ah, Luffy-_san_! Don't worry about us, we're just . . ."

Luffy waited.

"Now, I'm sure you must be tired," Brook said cheerfully, herding him back to bed. "You need to rest up for another day!"

Luffy frowned. "What? But I'm not really tired—"

Brook played a few bars of a lullaby and Luffy was asleep within seconds.

* * *

><p>The morning after, Luffy awoke to find that he was once again the only person in the room. He yawned, stretched, and went outside. No one was out there, either.<p>

Putting his nose in the air, Luffy took a large sniff and smelled food in the kitchen. Vaguely wondering why no one had woken him for breakfast, he ran for the kitchen and threw open the door.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Luffy jumped as all of the crew leapt out of their hiding places with a shout. He looked around at all of them, and then at the banner bearing the words 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUFFY' in large block letters.

"What's going on!?" he exclaimed, confused.

Usopp laughed. "Luffy, it's your birthday today!"

Luffy thought hard, and then slowly brightened. "Oh, _yeah_! I totally forgot!"

"How do you forget something like that?" Nami asked.

Luffy shrugged.

"Well, let's have breakfast now," Sanji said. "C'mon, everyone sit. Luffy, I made a bacon dish."

Luffy cheered and sat down.

"Do you usually celebrate your birthday, Luffy?" Robin asked as Sanji served up the food.

"Um . . ." Luffy swallowed his bite before answering. "Well, Ace and me usually didn't know what the date was, so we didn't do it a lot. But when we did, I got extra food! Dadan said that just 'cause it was my birthday didn't mean I could skip doing chores, but I didn't do them anyway."

The others decided not to ask who Dadan was.

"Sanji!" Luffy exclaimed, holding up his plate. "More!"

Sanji sighed and took his plate. "Did you even chew?"

* * *

><p><strong>Happy birthday, Monkey D. Luffy!<strong>

**Next chapter shall be Nami, whose birthday is almost two months away. Sorry.**


	7. Nami

**OH HEY WE'RE BACK**

* * *

><p>While she had been working for Arlong, Nami had rarely celebrated her birthday. One time she had returned to her house and found Nojiko waiting with an orange cake. She had protested, saying that everyone in the village hated her and what would they think of Nojiko if they found out she was celebrating the witch's birthday, but Nojiko had waved this off and insisted on a small celebration.<p>

Two more times, Nami had come to the house late at night on her birthday and found Nojiko asleep at the table with a cake in front of her. Both times she had cut herself a slice, eaten it, and left quietly. All her other birthdays were spent alone, hiding out from whoever she had most recently robbed.

Fast-forward to today, Nami's birthday aboard the Thousand Sunny. They had been docked at an island for three days now. She rose and made her way to the kitchen, where the rest of the crew was sitting around the table already.

"Nami-_swan_!" Sanji cried upon her arrival. "Happy birthday, my love! Though you are older than you were yesterday, your beauty grows ever more!"

"Thank you, Sanji-_kun_," Nami said over the other well-wishes. She sat at her place.

"Nami," Zoro said. "How much money do I owe you now?"

"Hm . . ." Nami looked up in thought. "By my calculations, you owe me about 400,000 beris."

Zoro shrugged. "Oh well, I'm close. Happy birthday, here's 200,000 of what I owe." He shoved an envelope at her. She opened it and was surprised to find the stated sum inside.

"Oh, _thank_ you, Zoro!" She said happily. "Now, make sure you don't take too long in paying me back the other 200,000!"

"Wha—do you know what I had to _do_ to get that much!?"

"What _did_ you do?" Usopp asked with a frown. "You came back yesterday with the money and you looked exhausted and your face was red—"

"Usopp."

"What?"

"Shut up."

Usopp stopped talking.

"Nami-_chan_," Robin said, "I found a clothing store the other day with some _adorable_ outfits. We could visit there today if you like."

"That sounds _great_, sis!" Nami said cheerfully.

"Allow me to accompany you both!" Sanji exclaimed. "I can be the judge for the outfits!"

"And I can be the judge for the panties," Brook offered with a chuckle.

"That won't be necessary, Sanji-_kun_, but thank you," Nami said. "Oh, and Brook?"

"Yes, Nami-_san_?"

She kicked him upside the afro. "WE'RE _NOT_ TRYING ON PANTIES!"

"Yo-ho-ho-ho! That kick made my eyeballs pop out of my head—ah, but I didn't have eyeballs to begin with!"

Luffy laughed. "Oh yeah, Nami, I got you these!" He produced three ripe tangerines and offered them to her.

"Thanks, Luffy!" She took them, unpeeled one, and tried it. Then she froze and glared at him.

"Luffy?" She said sweetly. "Where did you get these tangerines?"

"From your trees outside—"

Nami would have punched him had Sanji not come in with a flying kick to Luffy's face. "You shitty rubber!" He yelled. "How dare you rob my Nami-_swan_'s trees!"

"It's okay, Sanji-_kun_," Nami said with a sigh. "He meant well."

"Oh, my Nami-_swan_ is so forgiving!"

Once everyone had finished breakfast, Sanji declared that he was going to go grocery shopping to make an orange cake for later.

"Shall we go, Nami-_chan_?" Robin suggested.

"Sure," Nami agreed. Just before the two left, she turned and said "Hey, guys?"

They waited.

She grinned. "Thanks."

And she left the kitchen with Robin.

Franky cleared his throat. "Sanji impression," he said. He pulled his hair down over his left eye and cried "Oh, Nami-_swan_ is so lovely even when she's thanking us!"

The others laughed.

* * *

><p><strong>Happy birthday to Nami!<strong>

**Zoro's birthday is next, of course. It's about four months away, so I hope we can all be patient!**


	8. Zoro

**Wow, it's been a long time! But it's not my fault this time, so you don't get to blame me for laziness or anything. Ha!**

**Also, Veteran's Day for the USA and Remembrance Day for Canada!**

* * *

><p>On the morning of the 11th, Zoro woke to find that everyone was already up. As he left the room, yawning, he remembered it was his birthday today. He quickly formed plans for the day in his mind: After breakfast, he would spend the rest of the morning in solemn meditation in the crow's nest, where no one would bother him. After lunch, he would meditate for another hour, and then he'd exercise for three hours. Since it was his birthday, he could badger the cook for booze all he wanted and spend the rest of the evening drinking.<p>

He entered the kitchen and was immediately tackled to the ground.

"Zoro!" exclaimed a voice in his ear. "Happy birthday!"

Zoro scowled and sat up, causing Luffy to fall to the floor. "Y'know, if anyone else did that, they'd be dead right now."

Usopp laughed and helped Zoro and Luffy up. "Zoro, you forgot about _us_!"

Zoro looked at him. "Forgot?"

Usopp quietly sat back down as the others wished Zoro happy birthday.

"What's with all the decorations?" Zoro added while looking around at the streamers and balloons someone had procured from somewhere.

"It's your _birthday_, stupid," Sanji said as he served up breakfast, slamming a bottle of booze in front of Zoro. "Birthdays usually go hand-in-hand with decorations."

"'s not like it's a _big deal_," Zoro muttered, popping open the top of the bottle. "Just a birthday."

"Birthdays are too a big deal!" Luffy protested.

Brook nodded. "They're a benchmark in what will be a long and fruitful life! What's _not_ to celebrate?"

"I'll cut the interest off your debt, but not the future interest," Nami said. "Happy birthday!"

"We're having your favorite tonight, so you don't get to complain," Sanji said firmly, returning to the stove.

"I already had plans," Zoro protested, but was cut off by Luffy.

"Zoro, we're gonna go into town with you!" he exclaimed. "Me 'n Usopp found a fun place!"

And so, after breakfast, Zoro was dragged away by his overly energetic captain and sniper.

* * *

><p>They had lunch at a restaurant. As they finished the meal, Luffy cheerfully informed the waiter that it was Zoro's birthday.<p>

"Birthday?" exclaimed the waiter. "Then we have a surprise for you!"

He disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a dish of ice cream and a lit candle stuck on top, accompanied by several other waiters and waitresses.

"One, two, three . . . !"

"_Happy happy birthday, from all of us to you! We wish it was our birthday so we could party too! Happy happy birthday, may all your dreams come true! We wish it was our birthday so we could party too! HEY!_"

The servers and other restaurant patrons burst into applause. As Luffy strapped the complimentary conical party hat on Zoro's head, Zoro covered his face and sank down in his chair.

* * *

><p>"Okay, I'm going to bed," Zoro muttered. On captain's orders, he was forced to wear the party hat for the rest of the day. He tried to stand, but Luffy grabbed him and forced him back down.<p>

"We're not done partying!" he protested.

"There's still more booze for you and your stupid hat," Sanji informed him, setting another bottle in front of Zoro.

Zoro groaned.

* * *

><p>He was finally allowed to go to bed near midnight. He flopped onto the mattress and closed his eyes.<p>

It had been a hectic day. Almost none of his plans had been fulfilled. He had to go through embarrassing songs, and he was still wearing that stupid party hat.

He grinned into the pillow. He couldn't wait for his next birthday.

* * *

><p><strong>Happy birthday, Roronoa Zoro!<strong>

**Chopper is the next and last one, a little over a month away.**

**Also, I know that there will be at least one more crewmember after Brook, but I'll explain more about what I'll do for that in the next chapter.**


	9. Chopper

**Yay, baby Chopper's turn finally! Merry Christmas, y'all!**

* * *

><p>Chopper had only celebrated his birthday with Dr. Hiriluk once.<p>

"Say, Chopper, when's your birthday?"

"I . . . I don't have one."

"What's that!? Don't be ridiculous! Everyone has a birthday!"

"B-But . . . I don't know when mine is."

"We can't have that! Why don't you pick a day—any day!—and that'll be your birthday from now on!"

"Really?"

"Of course!"

"Th-then—how about today?"

"Sure! It's already afternoon, but we've got time to celebrate!"

"Celebrate? Really? How do we celebrate?"

"Well, let me think . . ."

Chopper had had six birthdays with Dr. Kureha.

"U-Um . . . Doctorine?"

"Yeah?"

"Today's my birthday!"

"And?"

"I was wondering . . . can we celebrate?"

"Celebrate? What on earth for?"

"Well—it's my birthday. Doctor always said you're supposed to celebrate on birthdays."

"That old quack . . . don't think I'm getting you any presents, got it? Go do what you want."

". . . Okay."

Today would be Chopper's first birthday with his crew.

His morning began with a scream.

"Morning, Chopper!" Luffy said, unfazed by the reindeer's screaming. He had decided to wake him up by standing over him and staring directly at his face. "Sanji's almost ready with breakfast!"

"Don't do that!" Chopper exclaimed.

Luffy laughed and started to leave.

"Wait, Luffy," Chopper said, scrambling out of bed. "Today's my . . ."

"Huh?" Luffy turned back.

Chopper shuffled his feet, recalling his past birthdays with Doctorine. ". . . Never mind."

Luffy shrugged and went out. Chopper sighed.

The morning passed by unusually peacefully—Luffy only tried to steal food once (though it was once from _each_ crewmember), and Usopp hadn't told very many fantastic tales.

"Chopper, is something wrong?" Sanji asked as he served Luffy up a third helping with the warning that this was his _last one_. "You've been awfully quiet."

Chopper hesitated. "It's nothing . . ."

After breakfast, Chopper retreated to his room to experiment.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Usopp?" Luffy said as he and Usopp played jacks. "What's the date?"<p>

"Uh . . . the 24th," Usopp said after a moment's thought. "Why?"

Luffy winced as some of the jacks stabbed his fingers. "I dunno, I was just thinking that something's happening today, and Chopper knows but he's not telling us."

Usopp stared at him. "That doesn't sound like a sentence you start with 'I dunno,'" he muttered. "Actually, you're probably right."

Luffy thought. "Hm . . . December . . . 24th . . . 24th . . ." he frowned. "Tomorrow's Christmas . . . maybe that's it?"

Usopp shrugged. "I guess so? No, hang on—I could have sworn—we asked Chopper something, and he told us the 24th, and you said it's really easy to remember because it's right next to Christmas."

Luffy nodded. "Yeah, yeah! I remember that! But what did we ask him . . . ?"

A few seconds of silence passed. Then the two looked at each other with wide eyes.

They stood and ran to Chopper's room.

"Chopper!" Usopp exclaimed as they piled into the room.

"Is today your—" Luffy began, but was cut off as Chopper whirled around and yelled, "Guys, get out of—"

_BOOM_

A huge explosion from the failed experiment blew Chopper, Luffy, and Usopp back. Chopper was thrown into the air and landed safely on the bed, while Luffy and Usopp were thrown into the wall, hitting their heads and landing facedown.

Chopper shook his head and exclaimed loudly when he spotted Luffy and Usopp.

"Guys! Are you okay!?" he exclaimed.

Luffy and Usopp slowly got up.

"What happened?" Luffy mumbled, shaking his head.

Usopp shrugged. "What're we doing here . . . ?"

Chopper looked very worried. "You guys were coming in here to talk to me, and then the flask exploded, and you hit your heads . . ."

"Oh," Usopp said. "Um—well, my head hurts, and I don't remember why we came here . . . but I'm fine, I guess."

Luffy nodded. "Yeah, I'm just hungry now."

"What's the last thing you guys remember?"

Luffy looked thoughtful. "Um . . . going outside. We were gonna start a game of jacks."

Usopp nodded. "Yeah, same here. If we remember what we were gonna say, we'll come back."

Chopper still looked worried. "If you guys still have a headache by lunch, come and see me!"

They nodded and went out of the room, scratching their heads.

Sanji poked his head through the door. "What the hell was that explosion?"

"It's nothing," Chopper said, staring after the two.

_"__Is today your—"_

Had they been about to say what he thought they were going to say?

* * *

><p>The afternoon was fairly quiet for the Strawhats. A Marine ship had passed by, but they'd laid low and managed to pass it without detection. Their victory, of course, was probably due to incompetence or cowardice on the part of the Navy.<p>

Dinner began quietly. Luffy and Usopp said nothing about headaches, but Chopper made a mental note to check on them later anyway.

"Oh, Chopper," Robin said as they all dug in. "Is there some reason you didn't remind us today's your birthday?"

The others stared at Chopper. Chopper shrank back. "Well—Doctor told me that birthdays should be celebrated, but Doctorine never really celebrated my birthday or hers—so I wasn't sure if we were gonna celebrate it if I reminded you guys."

"Chopper," Luffy said seriously.

Chopper waited.

"That's dumb!" Luffy exclaimed. "Of course we're gonna celebrate your birthday!"

"Really?" Chopper exclaimed happily.

"Sure," Sanji said. "I'll whip up some cotton candy."

"And we gotta do a double celebration, since it's so late," Luffy said firmly.

"A double celebration?" Chopper asked. "How do we do a double celebration?"

"We'll think of something!" Luffy exclaimed.

And so Chopper had his first real birthday celebration in seven years.

* * *

><p>~Fin~<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Happy birthday, Tony Tony Chopper!<strong>

**So yes, there will be more crewmembers in the New World. But because we don't know who they are yet (at the time of this chapter), I've decided to mark this story as complete. Once all the crewmembers are confirmed, I'll start a new story called "Happy Birthday, New Strawhat Pirates!" and it'll feature the birthdays of the NW members. I'll be posting the link to it here once it's up.**

**Story's done! Thank you for all your support, minna-sama~!**


End file.
